Woman Wakes to Find Man Sexually Assaulting Her on Airline Flight

A woman aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit woke to a man sexually assaulting her.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the 22-year-old victim was sleeping in the window seat next to 34-year-old Prabhu Ramamoorthy on the Wednesday overnight flight when she woke to find her pants and shirt unbuttoned and Ramamoorthy’s hand in her pants.

The victim reported that the man was shoving his “fingers in her (genitals) and vigorously moving them. When she fully woke up, the man stopped,” according to a federal complaint.

The woman reported the incident to flight attendants, who told authorities that she “appeared visibly upset and was crying.”

Ramamoorthy was arrested after the plane landed. He told FBI agents that he “might have” undone the woman’s bra, claiming that he had “cupped her (clothed) breast.” He also admitted to unbuttoning her pants and putting his hand in her pants.

Prior to speaking to the agents, he had provided a written statement claiming that he was in a deep sleep and that the woman had fallen asleep on his knees. He claimed he wasn’t sure “where [he] kept [his] hand on her.”

Ahead of a Thursday afternoon hearing, Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen ordered Ramamoorthy jailed. Ramamoorthy, who is from India, is allowed to request the government notify his home country to help with legal representation.